In 1914 the tonnage of steam and motor vessels of 100 tons and over in the world, according to Lloyd's Register of Shipping, was 45,404,000, of which 18,892,000 tons or 41.6 per cent, was owned in Great Britain and Ireland. In spite of the losses caused by submarine warfare, the total had risen to 63,267,000 tons by July 1, 1927, of which 19,179,000 were British owned, but on account of the great increase in building which had taken place during that period in other countries the percentage had shrunk to 30.3.

The banner year for British shipyards was 1920, when 618 vessels, having a gross tonnage of 2,055,624, were launched. The boom of 1920, however, was short-lived, and it speedily became evident that the supply of ships was greater than the world's carrying needs. Values steadily declined and a slump in shipbuilding set in which continued until 1926, when the total launchings in the United Kingdom had fallen to 197 vessels of 639,568 gross tons, the smallest volume recorded since 1893, with the exception of 1916.

In May, 1926, however, the coal miners of the United Kingdom went on strike, and by the end of that year the demand for tonnage to carry coal to that country was so great that a marked advance in freight rates took place. Large profits were made which, in many instances, were utilized to replace old tonnage which, under mormal conditions, could not compete with newer and more economically built vessels in the world's markets.

With the termination of the coal dispute in November, 1926, conditions in the shipbuilding industry began to improve but, while a good many orders were placed during the latter part of 1926, the actual construction was not begun until 1927, owing to the difficulty of obtaining steel plates caused by the closing down of blast furnaces through shortage of fuel.

This improvement continued as 1927 progressed so that, for the quarter ended September 30, vessels under construction numbered 327, having a total tonnage of 1,536,416, the highest total since September, 1922, and almost half the total world tonnage under construction.

LOCATION OF PRINCIPAL SHIPYARDS

According to the 1927-28 edition of Lloyd's Register of Shipping there are 225 shipyards in the United Kingdom, the principal ones being located in the following districts:

Yards

Clyde (Glasgow, Greenock, etc.) –

38

Tyne (Newcastle, Blyth, Jarrow, Hebburn, South Shields, North Shields, Gateshead)

17

Humber (Hull, Grimsby, Goole).

15

Thames (Millwall, Deptford, Rochester, Greenwich) –

14

Sunderland...

13

Liverpool and district (Birkenhead, Chester, Garston, Ellesmere Port,

Lancaster, Northwich, Fleetwood).

13

Southampton..

11

Tees district (Middlesborough, Stockton, West Hartlepool).

8

Leith and district_.

Aberdeen and district___

9

7

5

The importance of the districts, however, must not be judged by the number of yards; as an instance, although only two are shown in Belfast, they are very large and of great importance in the shipbuilding industry. On the other hand, the Humber, Aberdeen, and Leith yards are largely engaged with fishing vessels and the Thames with barges, while Southampton and Cowes yards specialize in yachts.

QUANTITY USED IN STANDARD CONSTRUCTION

According to a leading British firm of shipbuilders, the following are the approximate quantities of wood used in vessels of standard construction under Lloyd's highest rating:

15,000-ton passenger vessel:

300,000 feet, board measure, hardwoods. 600,000 feet, board measure, softwoods. 100,000 feet, superficial, plywoods. 10,000-ton cargo boat:

24,000 feet, board measure, hardwoods.
120,000 feet, board measure, softwoods.
10,000-ton tanker:

12,000 feet, board measure, hardwoods.
24,000 feet, board measure, softwoods.

PRINCIPAL USES

The principal uses for wood in shipbuilding are for shoring, staging and slipway, launching cradles and shores, decking, interior fittings and finish, deck houses, accommodation ladders, rails, bulkheading and cabin linings, hatch covers, bunker and hold ceilings, hold battens, pipe casing, topmasts and derrick booms, also for lifeboats. The woods used for interior fittings and finish of passenger boats naturally vary considerably, some being much more luxurious than others, and even in cargo boats there are many different woods used, some owners, especially those who carry their own insurance, requiring the best material, while with others price is the first consideration. The woods mentioned, however, in the following sections are those most generally used by the shipbuilders in the United Kingdom.

SHORING, STAGING, AND SLIPWAY

Large quantities of lumber are used for these purposes during the building of a vessel. Native larch is preferred for shoring poles but these are not always available, in which case Norway pine poles are used instead and even steel poles are sometimes used. These poles run from 60 to 70 feet long, about 16 inches diameter at butt with a 6 to 7 inch top. They are used to support the staging on which the men stand when working on the hull and frame. Experiments have been made with Douglas fir poles with satisfactory results and it would seem as if there was an opportunity to develop this business.

For staging White Sea spruce is used whenever possible on account of its lightness combined with strength. Staging is usually made by laying two pieces of 3 by 11 inch planks side by side. The shoring poles that support them are usually from 22 to 24 feet apart. Four men on an average work on each stage, the height varying from a few feet to 60 feet from the ground. North European spruce or even central European stock is used when White Sea is not obtainable, but they are avoided whenever possible.

Foundations and keel blocks may be either of wood or concrete and when of the former are usually of southern pine square sawn timber, and when concrete are capped with the same wood. When steel shoring poles are used they rest on a concrete foundation, while wooden ones rest on a small wood plate.

Cradles for launching purposes also require considerable quantities of wood, southern pine being mostly used.

DECKING

The principal woods used for decking are teak, southern pine, Douglas fir, and white pine.

The following is the decking bill for a 10,500-ton passenger steamer recently placed on the Clyde. For the exposed decks teak only

FIG. 34.-Clyde shipyard. Note great quantity of shoring poles, and staging used

will be used, southern pine for some covered decks, while others are to be of composition.

TEAK

Top of deck houses, bridges, and boat decks: 52,300 linear feet 214 by 5 inches, 16 feet and up, 20 to 21 lineal average.

Bridge deck: 11,400 linear feet 22 by 6 inches, 16 feet and up, 20 to 21 lineal average.

Margins: 2,560 linear feet 214 by 9 inches, 720 linear feet 22 by 9 inches, 825 linear feet 3 by 9 inches, all 14 feet and up, 18 lineal average.

SOUTHERN PINE

Covered decks: 17,500 linear feet 3 by 6 inches, 18 feet and up, average 26 feet (this size is unusual, but was called for in this particular instance).

Teak is used exclusively for the exposed decks of passenger vessels engaged in the tropical and far eastern trade on account of its resistance to the depredations of the white ant and its ability to retain its shape without working or shrinking, after proper seasoning, under

tropical conditions. The decking is imported ready-made and some is manufactured in local sawmills out of timber. The principal specifications used are 22 and 3 by 5 inches, 16 feet and longer, averaging about 20 to 21 feet, although other dimensions are sometimes called for. Specifications require the stock to be cut full so as to finish after dressing to the sizes given. Teak is also used for deck margins on these vessels-i. e., that part of the deck nearest the rail-around hatches and other places where the space is not sufficient to use two regular pieces but is too great for one piece. These margin planks, as they are called, are usually bought 24, 21⁄2, and 3 by 9 inches wide, 14 feet and longer, averaging 18 feet.

Southern pine has for many years been popular with British shipbuilders and there is probably more of this species used than any other. It is usually imported rough sawn to decking sizes, chiefly 3 by 5 inches and 22 by 5 inches, 18 feet and longer in length, averaging 24 to 26 feet. Other sizes are occasionally imported but the volume is comparatively small. The grade of "decking" is exceptionally high, few defects being permitted; face knots near the edge are considered a serious defect as they interfere with making a smooth calking seam. All-heart flat-grain stock is usually called for although some small quantities of edge-grain and heart-face decking are used. Before laying the deck planks are planed smooth to finished size, and a calking seam one-sixteenth of an inch is taken off both edges one-half the thickness of the piece.

In Scotland and northern Ireland some decking is manufactured from large sawn timber imported as 35 or 40 cubic average, 12 by 12 inches and up, 16 feet long and up. Some 3 and 4 by 11 inches and wider "extra prime" lumber is also used for margin planks.

Douglas fir, called Columbian or Oregon pine, is making considerable headway for decking. The moderate price at which edge-grain stock (which is mostly used in this species) can be delivered in the United Kingdom, compared with others, is proving an important factor in its favor; so important, indeed, that the use of Douglas fir decking seems likely to increase to the detriment of other woods. It is imported in the same dimensions as southern pine with a slightly longer lineal average, 28 to 30 feet being usually called for. Until recently Douglas fir has not been used in British battleships either for decking or armor backing, but it is of interest to note that H. M. S. Rodney, 35,000 tons displacement, launched at Birkenhead in December, 1925, had decking of this wood and it is reported that the British Admiralty has decided to use Douglas fir for other ships also.

It is reasonable to assume that the "Buy Empire goods" campaign has had some effect in bringing about this change. Inasmuch as Admiralty contracts specify that preference will be given to bidders offering stock to be shipped from British Columbia, it is doubtful if the United States will directly benefit by this decision. It is, however, a striking compliment to Douglas fir and the example of the British Admiralty will doubtless influence those shipowners who heretofore have not considered this wood suitable for decking, and it is from these that United States Pacific coast lumber exporters are likely to benefit..

White pine, or, as it is called in Great Britain, "Quebec yellow pine," has for many years been a favorite decking wood, but owing

to its softness making it unsuitable where it is subject to heavy wear its use has been largely confined to yachts, high-class small craft, and the bridge and promenade decks of first-class passenger liners.

Another use is for decking of cross-channel and excursion steamers and other vessels of large passenger capacity but of light draft. The weight of the decking on vessels of this character is an important factor, the difference, according to a prominent shipbuilder, being as many as 70 persons between this and other species.

Its freedom from pitch and color make it especially desirable for decking where appearance and not utility is a prime consideration. No manufactured white pine decking is imported into the United Kingdom, but decking is made from hewn timber known in the trade as "Quebec wany board pine." This timber is hewn on all four sides with a heavy wane on each corner. However, owing to the great value of this wood, its use for decking is becoming increasingly less year by year, and to-day only very small quantities are used for this purpose.

INTERIOR FINISH AND FITTINGS

Honduran and African mahogany, Austrian, Volhynian, and, to a small extent, American northern white oak, walnut, bird's-eye maple, and native sycamore are the principal woods used for panels and interior finish. In addition to these, small quantities of satinwood and many other fancy hardwoods are used. Much of this material is purchased ready-made in the form of panels, the figured or fancy woods being veneered on an inexpensive plywood such as okoumé (gabon), north European birch, and alder. For the frames of panels and pilasters American yellow poplar is a favorite wood on account of the ease with which it can be worked and the readiness with which it can be stained to resemble the panel wood.

Mahogany and oak are principally used for saloon and stateroom furniture; when of mahogany the Cuban variety is always used for the chairs as experience has shown it to be the only one that successfully stands up under the strain caused by the constant vibration of the vessel.

3

American yellow poplar is extensively used for the framework of wardrobes, chests, and sides and backs of drawers. For drawer bottoms and backing any cheap plywood is used, three-ply, inch thick, being mostly employed. Other species used for finishing work are Californian sugar and white pine and Canadian white pine.

Cabin doors require a large amount of lumber, these all being made in the shipyard's own shop. Port Orford cedar is making considerable headway for stiles and rails and Canadian white pine is also used for this purpose. The panels are mostly of okoumé (gabon) plywood 3 inch thick, three-ply. These doors are always painted white and it is essential that they be made from woods that will give a perfectly smooth finish. For that reason certain species have made little headway for this work although entirely suitable in every other respect.

In pre-war days stateroom and saloon decks were usually of wood but in recent times this material has almost entirely been superseded by composition flooring.